Uwharrie Wheelmen Road Race

Amy and I headed to New London on Saturday to race in the Uwharrie Wheelemen Road Race. Conveniently located at least an hour or more from everywhere else, the course was in the rolling farmland just north of Albemarle.

The Category 5 racers tend to be the figurative roosters of the bunch, often going off as the first races of the day. I was still bundled up for our 9am start. Fortunately for Amy, her race started after lunch, allowing her to enjoy the first-day-of-spring temps that ended up in the mid-70s.

With their kits still yet to come in, the Performance Bicycle Racing women went stealth with unmarked, white-and-black kits.

Ready to roll at the start line.

The course consisted of a 6.6-mile circuit through the cattle farms and cotton fields that populate the area. The rolling terrain was deceptively tough and made for a selective race. The Cat 5 35+ race was a 4-lap contest of around 26.5 miles. With bad legs from moving furniture the day before, I soloed in behind the field in 21st place.

As was the case in her first race of the season, Amy had to race in a Women's Open field, meaning that she toed the start line with all categories, including pros. With four teammates in the field with a pre-race strategy to make the race hard, a tough effort lay ahead. The field stayed together on the first of the five-lap event. However, on the second lap, the Performance Bicycle Racing women put their plan into action and sent two up the road. The breakaway sent the speed soaring, and the field quickly splintered into ones and twos, as seen in the picture of Amy above. The PBR plan worked to near-perfection, yielding a 2nd-place podium finish and 3 of the top 5 spots.

This hill was the nastiest of the course, boasting a 15% grade.

Amy hit the finish line 19th. Despite being part of the carnage, she worked together with another racer to put together a strong effort in a very tough race. The nearly 2-hour effort will pay dividends.

Next up, a couple of weekends off followed by the Rock Hill Classic and the Valdese Triathlon.